Allahabad High Court
SWETA RANAversusHIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD AND ANOTHER
- Decided
Holding
The Court consigned the petition to the records, ordered destruction of the physical records after digitization, and conditioned future prosecution on any breach of the respondent's undertaking.
Summary
The petitioner, Sweta Rana, sought relief concerning indecent photographs allegedly posted online and related chat material. The Court had previously ordered the masking of questionable material on 19.08.2026. Respondent No.2, Amit Rawat, appeared in person and affirmed that the cellphone containing the chats is in police custody, that he has not transferred the chats to a new SIM, and that he did not post any indecent photographs. An affidavit confirmed that he had not posted such material and that he undertook not to use or disclose any indecent remarks or chats. The Court, noting the masking of material and the respondent's undertaking, consigned the matter to the records and ordered that the physical records of Anticipatory Bail Application No.1013 of 2023 be destroyed after digitization, while reserving the right to prosecute the respondent if he breaches his undertaking. The petition was effectively dismissed with the matter closed pending any future violation.
Issues considered
- Whether the respondent posted indecent photographs of the petitioner on the internet or social media
- Whether the respondent is liable for making the petitioner's private chats public
- Whether the respondent's undertaking to refrain from further misconduct is sufficient to dispose of the petition
Subjects
- indecent photographs
- privacy
- digital evidence
- masking of material
- undertaking
- anticipatory bail
- record digitization
- contempt
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - C No. - 18020 of 2026
Sweta Rana
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
High Court Of Judicature At Allahabad And
Another .....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Malik Aalmeen, Shubham Shukla,
Vinay Bhushan Upadhyay
Counsel for Respondent(s) : Ashish Mishra, Devendra Mani
Tripathi, Nagendra Pratap Singh
Court No. - 1
HON'BLE AJIT KUMAR, J.
HON'BLE SIDDHARTH NANDAN, J.
1. Heard Shri Vinay Bhushan Upadhyay, learned counsel appearing on
behalf of the petitioner, Shri Rahul Srivastava, learned counsel appearing
on behalf of High Court and Shri Nagendra Pratap Singh, learned
Advocate has put in appearance on behalf of respondent no.2, who is
present, in person, before the Court.
2. Shri Upadhyay, learned counsel for the petitioner would agree and so
also Shri Rahul Srivastava, learned counsel appearing on behalf of High
Court that the questionable material has already been masked pursuant to
order of this Court dated 19.08.2026 and is thus not available in public
domain, however, insofar as chats between the contesting parties are
concerned, the respondent no.2, namely, Amit Rawat who has appeared in
person, makes a statement before the Court that the cellphone is already
surrendered to the police and it is, therefore, in police custody and while
he has obtained a new sim card, he has not downloaded the chats
available in the previous whatsapp handle into his new sim card
connection, nor he is in contact with the petitioner any more. He also
makes a statement that he has not saved the contact number of the
petitioner in his new sim card which he has installed in a cellphone.
3. An affidavit has also been placed before the Court duly sworn by Shri
Amit Rawat-respondent no.2 making a statement in para-5 whereof as
WRIC No. 18020 of 2026
2
under:
"5. That the Hon'ble Court has directed the deponent on
21.08.2026 to remove all indecent photographs related to the
petitioner that have been posted across various websites on the
internet. It is submitted before this Hon'ble Court that the
deponent/respondent no.2 neither posted any indecent photographs
related to the petitioner on the internet nor has he posted any
indecent photographs on social media applications of limited
access like Facebook, etc."
4. In view of the above, therefore, since indecent material which is
questionable has already been masked and the respondent no.2, who has
appeared in person has given an undertaking before this Court also that he
would not be using any indecent remark, nor would be in any manner
making public the previous chats between the parties, nor would be
making any other material public which may be offending to the
petitioner and her reputation, we are consigning this matter to the records,
with the order that in the event respondent no.2, who has appeared in
person, is found to be guilty of any offence or any misconduct despite
undertaking given before the Court, which tarnishes the reputation of
petitioner, he would be appropriately prosecuted by this Court upon such
a fact being brought to the notice of the Court. We further order that after
the digitization of the records of the application, in question, i.e.,
Anticipatory Bail Application No.1013 of 2023, the physical records
available with the High Court shall be destroyed in terms of digitization
rules framed for the said purpose.
(Siddharth Nandan,J.) (Ajit Kumar,J.)
September 17, 2026
S.Prakash
Digitally signed by :-
SHASHI PRAKASH
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
Checking your session…